


Ranger

by petersgirl



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer, Walker Texas Ranger (TV 1993)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crossover, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:00:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersgirl/pseuds/petersgirl
Summary: Bella enrolls in Junior Ranger program with Walker at her father's request. In the process she discovers new things. One of them is a handsome cowboy comes in the picture who has as many scars as she does. But she isn't the fragile human she once was as she comes into her own. How will he handle the woman she is? Are they destined to become one beating heart?
Relationships: Alex Cahill/Cordell Walker, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Jasper Hale/Bella Swan
Kudos: 10
Collections: Twilight - We Love Jasper





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A special thank you to Izzy for the awesome banner.  
**

"It's time to go Bella."

"Okay." I'd fought Charlie against it all the way. Until this morning, then I decided it didn't matter anymore. If I left Forks and never returned again. As much as I wanted to believe Charlie would miss me, his life would be easier in the end.

"Make sure you call me. To let me know you made it alright."

With a nod to Charlie's request, my attention was out the window of the car. The tops of the tall trees whizzed by as we drove on. Just as they had when I arrived a couple of years ago in this damn forsaken town.

The only difference, today was a beautiful sunny spring day. You didn't see many of those here. Maybe it was a sign I was moving in the right direction finally. It was leading the path of light to a new destination for me. All the while the storm still brewed with rage in my heart. I seen that everyday since they had gone.

"Well...I guess..You know, Bella..."

"I love you too." It was easier to put a stop to the awkward moment between us. Let Charlie off the hook and just go on my way. He helped me take my bags to the door. By the straps I threw them over my shoulder. Gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't you want me to wait with you?"

"I'm good." I said it with a smile too even though my heart ached to leave him. It became my normal response to everything. Perhaps one day, I could even convenience myself I actually was good again.

With a sigh, I went to stand in the long line in front of the ticket counter. A little boy clung to his mother's leg as we progressed forward. When he peeked around her at me, I'd smile at him. We done this until it was our turn.

"Bye lady."

"Bye."

It was the only reason I had to be happy lately. This little stranger brought a few minutes of cheerfulness and relief in my life. The security check to get to the boarding gate, however, didn't. After I threw all my crap on the convert belt and my shoes, it was down to just waiting. Lately, I would just wait to see what came around on a lot of things.

Once I made my way to the boarding gate, I plopped down for another hour wait. Jessica gave me a book for the trip. After I read the back of it, I tossed it in the bag. It was about a boy and girl who had a forbidden love. A love they could never have because they were so different. Really, I didn't need to read it to know how it turned out, I had lived it with Edward already.

There were times I wondered if he ever thought of me at all. Or if he moved on to the next place they called home and found someone else. My heart just needed more time to process what my mind already knew. Of course he had moved on. I wasn't the one who walked away from him. He let me go because he didn't want the fragile little human to play with anymore. He toyed with my heart for his amusement then tossed me aside like garbage when he was done with me.

People began to line up to get on the plane. They were excited to get to their destination but I wasn't. This was the choice I was given. It was either this or go home with Mom. She was happy and content with her life. I wasn't going to change it for her. She deserved some happiness, we all should have it. Although I seen none coming in sight for me.

As I walked down the aisle to my seat. I watched the passengers get settled in. I found myself being more inverted than ever before. I spoke only when spoken to and had to work hard to socialize with anyone. I was relieved when no one else was assigned to the seats beside me. Useless chatter was not something I wanted. Neither would another steal my heart away to tromp it later.

We were born alone and died the same way as well. They flirted the romantic idea we would fall in love and be with the special person forever. But I knew it was a lie. It was the human certainty you couldn't choose who you fell in love with. But they sure as hell could choose to fall out of love with you.

"Would you like something to drink? Miss?"

"Yes, please."

The puffy clouds we flew through offered a reminder like nothing on the ground had. It was where my head had been since I met Edward. The beams of the sun which peeked out of them made me miss my sparkly vampire even more.

The longer I watched them out the window, they sort of floated in and out of my life at warp speed of the plane. Just like the Cullen. Only they brought the storm with them until they magically disappeared from my life without a trace they were ever there.

Half the trip was over before I knew it. The other half I popped my ear buds in and tried to relax. Let the world pass me by as I flew threw the sky to a new place without any reminders of the Cullens. There was nothing there which tied me to them. This was a fresh start and a do over for me.

**RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER~RANGER**

"Bella. Are you Bella?" The lady held out her phone so I could see the picture. I was asleep on the bed and my hair a mess. My face must have been so many sheds of red as it was used as a poster for a lost teenager. "Charlie sent this to Walker so we would know it's you. Walker wanted to be here but he got held up with a case. So he sent me. I'm Alex."

This tiny woman was attractive and friendly. Not a hair out of place in the neat little bun she had it swept up in. We got into an expensive car to match the designer clothes she wore. I felt out of place immediately. This is too was how I got thrown in with the Cullens. Although this was nothing like Charlie described it.

She talked all the way to the ranch about nothing I really understood. I would occasionally smile, nod and throw in a that's great. Again, my attention went out the window. The surroundings were similar to Forks. A lot of open land, swaying trees and nothing around for miles for the simple eye to see. But those trees held secrets back home no man could ever unlock.

"Well, we're here."

Now this was more like what Charlie had told me about. Horses and more horses. "Is it okay if I pet one?"

"Sure honey. Make yourself at home here. I have to take this call."

She paced around the yard on her phone while I enjoyed the company of the four legged animals. Other than the occasional swish of their tails, they remanded perfectly still as they took turns getting my attention. It was amazing, they were huge yet acted more like little puppies.

"Bella, I'm so sorry I have to go to the office. But Walker should be here soon. Lets get you settled in before I go."

She gave me the quickest run down of the house before she bolted out the door. "There is food in the frig, help yourself. My phone number is on the counter. Call me if you need anything."

The guest room was decorated to the hilt to make you feel at home. When I opened the double french doors, they led me out to a patio.

"Hi." Out of the four guys setting at the table, the one was very friendly.

"Hey."

While the rest went back to work, he stayed behind with me. "Walker told me to show you around. I'm Caden by the way."

"Bella."

Well, he was a talker. I hardly added to the conversation at all. But I had enjoyed being taken around the ranch which was enriched in history. We walked a lot for hours. Until we reached the fenced in parts end. Then he stopped to take me back.

"What is past this area?"

"Just woods and meadows. But you shouldn't wander off. It's easy to get turned around out there and get lost."

One would have thought I would have listened and took his advise. But, nope I hadn't. There was a feeling gnawing at the me I just couldn't shake. There was something out there for me to see. The small backpack got dumped on the bed. I filled it with a couple bottled waters, a long sleeve shirt and a cap just in case I needed it. With a good pair of walking shoes on, I was ready.

A good walk was what I needed to clear my head. There were a thousand reasons I shouldn't have gone. But the main one was I advanced on my own this time around. I made my own choices. I answered to no one except myself for those choices I made.

When I reached the center of meadow. I rested on my knees on the cool ground. I could remember it as though it only happened yesterday. It was a place just like this where my world came together with Edward Cullen. Then fell apart just as quickly.

_"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…" Edward murmured it in my ear. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I was thrilled to the words he spoke to me on that day._

_"What a stupid lamb." I sighed afterwards. But I still wasn't afraid of the vampire._

_"What a sick, masochistic lion."_

That was when I fell hard for Edward. Past the point of my own well being. His voice spoke directly to my heart. Then he drove a stake through it when he tossed me aside.

"Don't do this to yourself." The road to recovery started when once you identified what broke you to begin with. I reprimanded myself for thinking back to the time we shared in the meadow together and for thinking of him fondly.

Even more, I had never meant to love him. One thing I truly knew, I knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, I knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet,I knew it deep in my empty chest. It was how love gave someone the power to break you. When life offered you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it was reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. It was time to move on. Past time to move on from Edward. As I got in taller grass, I decided to cut through the wooded area on the edge.

Caden had warned me I could get turned around out here and he was right. Everything started to resemble the place I was just at, where I had turned around and went in a different direction. I tied my long sleeve shirt to a bush. To only find it again within fifteen minutes. But this time, it laid on the ground in a different spot. Someone or something was out here with me. That much I was sure of.

When I took my cell out to call Alex, I had no signal bars. "Shit."

This wasn't anything new to me either. I had been hunted by blood thirsty vampires, then loved one of their kind. I had been saved by my best friend who turned out to be a wolf in a teenage boy's body, then had even a closer bond with him. Not because of it but in spite of it.

As the sun beat down in the afternoon. Its rays were scorching. But as the soft wind blew I felt the ice of it hit my sweaty skin. When the air made your body ache there was no doubt about it. Something lurked out there, very near me.

You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers; the monsters, the enemies. When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved.

If this was where I died I wanted to make it on my own terms. I fled threw the woods to find the meadow again. It was the one place I felt whole. The last time I wandered off by myself in Forks hadn't went well either. I ran into one of the killer vampires who wanted to avenge the death of another. Laurent knew the Cullens weren't around any longer. They left me unprotected.

_"Do the Cullens visit often?" Laurent waited for my answer while he licked his lips._

_"Yeah, absolutely." Edwards voice came through loud and clear to me; lie. It was all I heard. Then it came as a scream in my head; lie better. "I'll tell them you stopped by. I probably shouldn't tell...Edward. He is pretty possessive."_

_"I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs."_

By the time I reached the edge of the meadow, my body collapsed on it. When you were punched in the gut hard enough, all could only gasp in was disparage. But the feeling in my stomach was nothing compared to hole punched threw my heart by him. The last long gasp from me was another story within itself.

From high above me, I never heard the predator coming. They were a silent stalker. The dark shadow cast on the ground was the indication, this was it for me. They had found me once again, as my blood sang to them, I could not hide. As I bowed my head in submission. I murmured the words as my last. "I love you."

The loud screech got my attention as I looked up. Its wing span looked ominous in the shadow it cast on the ground but beautiful in flight. While I just watched it, I didn't see him coming my way. "I am White Eagle. You should not be out here alone."

Once again I felt as though I could trust no one in reality. Maybe if I pretended I knew where I was going, he would leave me alone. "I should get back. Walker will probably be looking for me."

He tiled his head side to side side as though he was studying me. "Walker is like a son to me. I will go back with you."

Although I wasn't certain about the man. He locked his arms behind his back and his hands joined together. To let me know he wasn't a threat to me. It was comforting, sort of. But what I had learned from the wolves and vampires. Many creatures of the night walked this earth in human form. They moved among us undetected.

He seemed to know where he was going and didn't fear the unknown up ahead. The silence, however, was uncomfortable among us. So, I tried to break it. "There is a tribe back home. The Quileute , they are good people."

Only it brought on more stress between us. He stopped in his tracks. To stare at me as his eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. He spoke nothing but continued on with our walk. I felt it was best to be quite and just follow him.

When our trip had come to an end with the house in sight. He only pointed to it. Again, never spoke. I let a sigh of aggravation. Then deemed to just say what I had to. "Thank you for coming with me. I really appreciate..." I turned around and he was gone.

It was best to keep this experience to myself. Alex was unloading groceries from the car when I arrived back and I helped her. She never asked where I had been and I never volunteered any information about it as well. On the last trip out I caught a slight side profile of his face. I could focus on nothing else now.

"He's cute, huh?"

"Um...yeah...I guess. Who is he?"

"Another Junior Ranger. Walker has taken to him."

After our exchange Alex went in the house. I went to see him up close. By the time I went through the barn doors, he had disappeared in thin air. The moments of déjà vu were coming more frequently, now. I had no existing proof it was him but I was damn certain of it.

"Bella." The voice startled me from behind. "It's so nice to meet you."

Walker seemed like a kind and gentle man. We talked while Alex fixed dinner. Then it became picture time. The old stories of him and Charlie came with them. "Wait. This is Charlie?"

"Yes. Your dad would have made a hell of a Ranger. But when Charlie found out your mom was pregnant with you. He knew where he belonged, with his family."

Charlie never talked about this part of his life. He gave up a great opportunity for me. It was amazing how you didn't even notice your parents were people too and had a life before you. Until someone else brought it to your attention. "I think I'm going to call Charlie before we have dinner."

"Good. Tell him I said hello."

This was actually a conversation with Charlie I enjoyed. I had million questions for him. Most of them, he answered. While others, he didn't. Or maybe he really didn't know how to. "Alex is calling me for dinner. I love you, Dad."

He paused for the longest time. "I love you too." We agreed to call each other everyday just to keep in touch.

I was smiles all the way to the dinning room table. It was set beautifully and more food than I had seen on one in a while. There was four plates set though. It caught me off guard for a minute until there came a knock on the door.

When Walker came back to the table, I knew exactly who was suppose to come for dinner. "He has a lot of work to do. He will eat later. But wanted me to thank you for the invitation." It made Alex smile. But I was on a mission.

"You know what, I think I'll help him out. I'll eat later too."

"Bella..." Walker went to protest me leaving.

Alex came to the rescue." Relax, Walker. Bella need to be around people her own age. Besides they would make such a cute couple."

Her words rang hollow about him. I knew exactly what the hell he was. I practically ran to the barn too. "I know what you're doing."

"Brushing a horse." He immediately snapped back at me.

"I know it's you. So you can stop pretending."

"I think you must have me confused with someone else."

If he wanted to play this game, we would play. I walked around the barn to find something to get his attention. On the wooden barn wall was horse shoes hanging along with a tool which had a very sharp knife on the end of it. It work just fine.

When the sharp object pierced the skin on my finger, I had felt worse pain before. Like when he left and they left. I was left behind because I didn't matter. The throb of my finger as the blood seeped from me, matched the throb of my bleeding heart.

"I am bleeding Jasper. You would be doing me a favor to just get it over with."

The brush slipped from his grip as it tumbled to the ground. While the red color continued to trickle from my hand I waited for his razor sharp teeth to penetrate my skin and take as much life from me as he wanted. To drain my body of the pain it felt. From experience in the past, I knew he couldn't resist the sweet smell of my blood, it was their cocaine. Jasper was a junkie vampire in need of a fix.

The last face I saw when I closed my eyes tightly was of Charlie when they told him I was gone from this earth. How I just disappeared into the night. Or maybe they would make up a good story of how I came to pass from whatever they made up.

My head shook involuntary when I saw my father weep when he heard the news. I tried to shake it off and repeated to myself how he would be better when I was gone. When the images flooded my mind of us and the time we spent together when I first came to live with a father I never knew. My lips turned to a smile. With a nod to myself, I was ready for death to take me.

When Jasper firmly gripped my hand in his. My eyes popped wide open. "You should put a Band Aid on that." It was all he had to say on the subject. As quickly as he had me in grasps, he dropped my hand and just walked away.

* * *

**Thank you for reading me!**

**I have numerous stories wrote and never posted. Along with updates on the others. I'm working on finishing all of them. I hope by the weekend to post updates to; Circling the Crow (which will be complete), Snow White and Seven Naughty Wolves and Roaming Love of Endless Time.  
**

**Thank you for leaving a review, marking this story as your favorite or alert.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2, Spirits**

* * *

The gnawing sensations kept with me as I drove behind Alex. Walker couldn't believe I wanted to drive his old rusted truck. Hell, it was nicer than the one Charlie gave me when I arrived at his house. I fell in love with it and I was close to throwing love declarations at this one too.

But the feeling grew to the point it took away the happy moment I had behind the wheel. Their eyes were boring holes within me, my skin felt flushed out to hot. I clutched my chest because it ached so badly. Everything we seen was only a shadow away from what we hadn't yet. Some people always seemed to bast in the glory of the sunshine. While others were hidden in the darkness behind a shadow that lurked before them. The clouds just got darker hovering up above me as I went.

It appeared dark out the window when it was broad daylight. My eyes squinted to see before me. The narrowed vision was a path I shouldn't have gone down. The truck veered off the road when I covered my ears at the high pitch sequels which were deafening. My head was about to explode from them. Every scream I made wouldn't make it stop or go away either.

 _'Twilight, again. Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end.'_ Edward swooned me with his wisdom numerous times. I loved to listen to him speak. It was from another time, another life he lived. It was a way we passed time together. But, when it was just us, time stood still for me. No one else could invade the world, the life we had.

 _'I like the night. Without the darkness we'd never see the stars.'_ The color of silence back then was my friend, my confidant. There was no need for me to know what would come, what waited up ahead. Until, now that was.

As much as I tried to gain control over the vehicle, I couldn't get it to stop on the large drop down. What was coming up wasn't much of happier thought either. I pumped the brakes because if I reached the water at the bottom of this, I was in huge trouble.

The voice became prominent, it become the guided tour I took on my way spiral downward. With every fiber of my being and what little time I had left. I tried to concentrate on the angel's voice instead. The white light was all in my sight, it was calling my name, maybe this was truly my ending. Truly the last few precious moments I would spend here.

"Bella." They screamed my name. They were on this last journey with me. "Please, just breathe."

Yes, I wanted them to know I heard them with a response, say anything back. But I couldn't find my lips. My voice had been sedated. Again, the angel called out my name with pain and agony in their their uplifting voice. But the impact from the crash shoved my chest into the steering column.

Once my eyes were finally able to open up, I looked for the angel. I even looked around for the vampires in the water coming to get me. But I found neither close by. It was when the angel began sobbing, a broken sob of no tears. An angel should not ever weep. I was at place of peace for the longest time I hadn't felt. I wanted to let them know, don't be sad for me.

Only with the water so deep and my chest crushed, I couldn't move. It was pressing on it so hard I closed my eyes so I could see my angel. Let them take me home to a better place, a place of rest and happiness.

"Bella." The weighted block was felt to my toes. "Breathe, please." The quick rapid compressions where done in perfect rhythm. Then it was gone. The angel was silenced.

All I could do was let out a relief moan when the warm hand brushed the wet hair from my face. With nothing restraining me now, I tried to move. Then the pain set in. I knew it all too well. I was still alive to feel so much of it.

Just as I had when Jacob Black saved me too. I had jumped off a fucking cliff to see Edward's face one more time telling me don't be reckless. But the wreck of the vampires had already broken me to the point I wanted to just get it over with. Let the darkness find me, from the collision my heart experienced, end it all. It was a love hit and run as Edward ran away from me in the middle of the night.

Yet Jacob never gave up on me as much as I tried to on him. He stayed by my side until I could get up on my own to face another day. Although I hated to admit he was right about everything, I confessed all my sins to my best friend. He loved me anyway. The thoughts of Jacob faded as they spoke to me.

"Don't move. The paramedics will be here soon."

Alex was a mess, wet and muddy. Was she my angel? Was it her who saved me? Was she the one I needed to thank for the effort but curse because she succeeded?

The sirens were heard a mile away and growing louder now. They came quickly too. When they began to wrap me head to toe. I put my hand up to protest. "Miss hold still."

My voice was finally heard when they went to load me up in the ambulance. "I'm fine."

"We are going to get you checked out Bella. Charlie trusted us with you, we will not take any chances. I will be right behind you in the car." The doors shut when Alex was done. I hated her to go through all this fuse over me.

It got even worse as Walker was the first person I seen when they wheeled me towards the doors. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Thankfully they wheeled me away before I had to answer him. Yet, I felt the need to respond to it anyway. "Life happened."

They were already putting me through a series of test. I felt like everyone who came by me wanted to look at me. Hospitals weren't a place I hadn't been before, actually, I spent a lot a time at them hanging out with the Cullens.

The shot they injected me with made it hard for me to see or keep my eyes open anymore. Even when closed, they still came to me. The thoughts of the past.

 _'I'm sure all this sounds a little bizarre, coming from a vampire. But I'm hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us. It's a long shot, I'll admit. By all accounts, we're damned regardless. But I hope, maybe foolishly, that we'll get some measure of credit for trying. Tonight is exactly the kind of thing that Edward fears the most. You being put in danger, because of what we are.'_ Carlisle stitched up my arm at his office in the house as he had a conversation to let me know everything would be alright. Only it was a lie. All because I was pushed into glass by Edward to save me. All because I paper cut my finger. All because my blood turned Jasper into a monster who wanted to kill me.

The ice cold hands startled me. Carlisle was here at the hospital. He was trying to care for me again. He was trying to coverup what happened again. "Don't touch me you son of bitch. You lied to me."

"Hey. I'm here too. The doctor won't hurt you."

Once I could focus again clearly. Alex was hoovered over me along with a strange man dressed in white lab coat. It wasn't Carlisle at all. Just another day dream which turned to a nightmare. Awake or asleep, day or night, the shit still remained the same.

"This will help with the pain. Get plenty of rest and a follow up visit with your doctor should be scheduled."

They blew off the little outburst as shock to my system. I had a big newsflash for them. Not much could truly shock me anymore. Although, when I coughed I was more concerned over my side than what they thought about me. I had a bruised rib. They considered me lucky. I considered myself cursed.

When we went to leave. As I went to round a corridor in the hospital, I almost went down to the floor. It was the same sad scene all played out before me. Carlisle, Rosalie and Edward all huddle up vampires to find the perfect excuse to hide what they were in the perfect world they created.

 _'What was I suppose to do, let her die?'_ Once again I was saved by Edward Cullen, then not at the same time. He risked exposing their secrets as he defended his actions to his angry family, their secret coven. I would have been crushed by the van that fateful day in the parking lot. Except he stepped up and stepped in to change my course of fate.

 _'Are you gonna tell me how you stopped the van?'_ I was inquisitive by nature to start with. But I should of stopped there, just let it go. Just let him walk out of my life and never looked back.

 _'Yeah. Um... I had an adrenaline rush. It's very common. You can Google it.'_ His answer lit the fire in me I could not put out. But that fire, ended up burning my soul.

"I am not going to let you do this to me again."

Alex had the same look Charlie got when I acted crazy. The cross of pity and wow you need some medication. "We should go home so you can get some rest." It was what she said but I knew what she really meant.

On the way back to the ranch my mind wandered off as I stared through the window. Perhaps I liked it because nothing stared back at me with judgement eyes. But I lived enough in reality I thought at one point how unstable I was when I caught a glimpse of my own reflection. Truly life was just the reflection you seen of it. Then I knew for certain it existed, I wasn't stable. Part of it was I had been always been this way throughout my life., I was always the odd little duck which just didn't belong. I searched out the unknown, thirsted for something. I couldn't ever figure out what it actually was. Perhaps I never would either.

"Do you need some help?" She threw the car in park and waited as I slowly made my exist from the car.

Alex was the kindest person I had meet. She had no agenda for it nor wanted anything because of it. Yet, I still felt there was something there. 'Why are you being so nice to me?"

It caught her off guard. She was puzzled by my question. "I think the bigger question is why you feel I wouldn't be?"

It was a slap upside my head. Probably one I deserved no doubt. I could have answered her but of course. I would there would have been a deep thoughts, feelings and so on kind of conversation if I had of. So, I pulled an Edward, change the subject to something else and simply pretend you never heard it.

"A hot shower is what I need."

She nodded in agreement with me. She went to her room and I went to mine. It hadn't taken long for me to find the quilt spread out on the bed. I didn't bother to pull the sheets back, I scooted slowly until I made my way to the middle of it and wrapped up like a burrito. I'd wash it later.

Maybe this was what babies loved about being inside a blanket. It brought them warmth and a safe feeling. Personally, it was what I needed at the moment. As always,all good things turned to shit in a blink of the eye. When I woke screaming in the pillow, it was time to get up and move my ass around for a while.

The water was as hot as I could take it. It would wash away the grim of the day. But not what my heart felt. When the heat made my breathing labor, it was time to get out of it.

Alex was leaned over the counter. The circular motion she made with on her stomach with her hand, I knew something was wrong. "Alex."

"My stomach is upset. It been an eventful day." She moved slowly towards the stove. The stiff body she carried was sign of trauma I inflicted on her. She wasn't the well put together woman at the moment. Her short hair in small ponytail, sweats and no makeup on.

"I'll make the tea for you."

We were similar, we didn't care much for others taking care of us. But I seemed in better shape than her and wouldn't take no for an answer. While I waited for water to boil, she made her way out to the front porch.

Through the window, I seen Walker join her. They were so sweet with each other. He dotted over her and you could tell, she worshiped him. It made me smile with hope maybe someday, I would believe in love again.

However, the closer I got to the door with the teacup, I wasn't smiling anymore. "What happened today?"

"I'm not sure. It happened so fast and it was really strange. The truck was down in the creek in the water, Bella was laying on the ground when I got there."

"Maybe she got ejected from the vehicle."

"She was wet, her entire body. Like she had been in water, then dragged out of it. The ground was saturated around her. But there was no one else around."

"Well, I'm just glad everybody was alright."

They went to talk about his day. I was grateful I was no longer the subject of conversation. I put on my phony happy facade, I was good at it too. It was something I took cue from the vampires. They could make you believe anything, even the unbelievable as they had convinced me.

"Here's your tea."

"Why don't you join us?"

"I'm a little tired. I need to rest."

From the bed I stared at the ceiling in a completely dark room. Hell, I could have done this in Forks. I had done this for hours on end there. Except I tried to process everything Alex told Walker.

Was someone else there when I hit the water? Had someone recused me from the truck? Could there have been vampires with me the entire time? Of course, I didn't know the answers to those questions. But there was one person who knew the truth to them.

The pain pills set on the nightstand. With my hands I braced my body on the bed. It was a slow process to scoot myself to the upright position. Never had I taken medication to kill the pain before. Yet, there were many tings I hadn't done before. The bottle shook in my hand it made a rattle sound. But I took one out and swallowed it down.

One foot in front of the other I went to find Jasper. His appearance was different from what I had remembered about him. His hair a lot shorter than he used to wear it. The cowboy hat obstructed the curves of his face. As though it helped hide his shame. But none of that mattered.

"Jasper." I announced my arrival in the barn. I waited to see if he would respond or not. He could have gone home already.

"What." He was in the loft above moving around hay bales.

"Can you come down here please?"

"No."

"Fine. We will have this discussion anyway. If you don't mind someone possibly hearing about our past. I'm okay with it."

Jasper jumped down from the loft and landed on his feet. He didn't even bother to use the ladder. Since I already knew what he was. "What do you want?"

"Which one saved me today?"

"No one saved you that I know of."

"Bullshit." It came out a lot louder than I intended. It was also full of the hate and aggravation I felt so much of it in my heart as well. "One of the Cullens pulled me out of the truck. Don't lie to me."

"That is impossible. None of them are here. I haven't seen them since...we left Forks."

**Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~** **Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~** **Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~Ranger~**

Three days I'd holed up in my room trying to heal my wounds. Although some of them wouldn't ever get better. The quilt on the bed was made my Alex. Not only was it beautiful stitch work, it was comfy. It became part of me as I always had myself wrapped up in it or draped around my shoulders.

 _'There is something strange about the way you two are together. The way Edward watched you, it's so...protective. Like he is about to throw himself in front of a bullet or something.'_ My mother was ditzy. There was no deniable reason to protest the fact. But she saw right through Edward. It was me she had no idea what I had done or become.

Renee too enjoyed quilting. Mom made me one for a graduation present out of t-shirts we collected. The memories of those places we visited were a lot happier than the reality I faced today.

So, I laid my body to rest against the headboard. When my head bobbed in a drift off to sleep mode. I took a couple of short breaths and grabbed the only book I had. Sure it was a sappy romance, the boy gets the girl, the boy tossed the girl to the side, the girl fell into a sense of misery and loneliness.

"Hell, I wrote this book with my life."

But I forged forward to read the sappy shit you'd done for love. Or at least you believed they loved you. The medicine must have kicked in because my eyes fluttered like my beating heart. Then I began to see my eye lids more than the page.

The beats of my heart were all that was heard within the four walls around me. It also seemed they were getting closer too each time I managed to open my eyes. But those beats only got louder each time as well.

While I still laid awake, simply played with the shadows as they slowly climbed up the walls. The glance out the window showed the gentle light had slipped away. It was the darkness again and all it had to offer. I must of slept until the day was gone.

It was the heart beat though, I was wrong because it wasn't mine. Whatever was behind those swinging doors to the outside held it. It began to pick up the pace in a more frantic action.

Maybe it was because I longed to be away from here in reality. Maybe it was because I had seen Jasper Cullen and it played with my emotions. Maybe it was because I felt I never belonged anywhere I went. Until I had met a vampire and his family.

"No."

It was hard to keep my head straight with the medicine in my systems. But I still shook off the notion of him and the happiness I once knew. I thought my restless wandering was over then. I had found what I wanted for all eternity and it was all a lie. Even closing them out of my mind I still felt the void. Yet the loneliness was still the plaque which haunted me once again.

The knock at those doors had my complete attention now. It wasn't normal though. It done it in the form of heart beats wrapping against the door. Calling for me to see what was behind them. Asking me to trust the unknown. Telling me it was time to crawl out of bed and face it, face it alone and on my own.

A home was supposedly the safest place in the word. You built it to your liking and what made you happy. You were to feel comfort behind the four walls and something simple as as a door. As much as I tried to pretend or imagine myself as a part of those people out there which truly believed in this, I still locked my doors at night in hopes to keep the evil out. While I knew how much of it existed and a door wouldn't stop them.

Only it was always a soft whisper in my ear which continued to play over and over, this was the rest of what my life had to offer. With that final thought, I swung my legs over the side of the bed to see what the night had in store for me.

But I wasn't prepared for what was on the other side. The cooler air gave me a shiver as I pulled the quilt tighter around me. This time, it gave no comfort to me. As I let it fall to the ground. When I seen him.

There was no indication of what he was actually doing. It seemed he praised the moon up above. With his hands high up in the air, I couldn't make out what he said.

"Hey."

After, I announced my presence and got no response from him. I repeated it several times. Then I got worried. "Are you alright?"

His bony finger pointed directly at me. "You done this. You brought the evil spirits."

"What?"

Before I could get him to explain what he meant. I witnessed the old man from the woods turn into what I already knew existed. He was just like Jacob, a wolf in a man's body. The dark black giant had his hands full with a vampire, Jasper.

They fought each other without mercy. When I turned around to get away, far away. I dropped to my knees at the bloodless bodies on the ground. Alex and Walker had been drained.

"No." I screamed it to the sky. The tears were falling with no end in sight.

"What is it?" A man I had never seen before busted through the bedroom door which brought out of the trans sleep I was in. "What?"

The stunned look must have told him. The light he flipped on made it hard for me to focus my sight on him. But he backed away from my bed and put his gun back in the holster. "I'm Trivet. I'm not going to hurt you. You were screaming and I thought something was wrong."

"What the hell is going on?" Walker wasn't far behind him either.

"I had a bad dream." It was the explanation I gave them. My life was just one bad episode after another. With Jasper here, with another brush of death, with a nightmare which seemed so real. I was a mess.

"What happened?" Now Alex was here too. They all were staring at me. I never liked attention much. Now, I absolutely hated it. I was always afraid I gave away my secrets when I let someone in. She must have sensed it too. "We should give Bella her privacy." With a smile she pushed the guys out of the room.

Most people would loved to be around Alex. Her perky, upbeat personality was uplifting. Even I found fleeting moments where I enjoyed it. Today, wasn't one of them however. I wanted to keep to myself, wallow in my own self pity.

After I pulled the quilt up tightly around me, I must have drifted back off to sleep. Until I woke to sunshine and noise. It took a bit to get to the door. The guys were running the ranch while Walker was at work. I just watched them. Of course Jasper was nowhere around. The sun would have made him a sparkly object. It would have gave away his secrets. It made sense why he worked here at night.

"Morning Bella."

"Morning."

Everyone was so welcoming. They treated me as though I had always belonged and was a part of their world. To some degree, I liked it. But more so I liked to watch from afar.

They were working with the horses. One was fiery which he wouldn't conform to their wishes. He was a wild beast which didn't want to be tamed. Every time someone would climb up on his back, they didn't last long until they were on the ground again. It sort of made me smile, they couldn't break his spirit.

"Good morning."

"Morning. I thought you were at work."

"I have the day off. Are you feeling better?"

Alex cared, you could tell. But she never pushed me, which was great too. After I got dressed I joined her out on the front porch. This was her spot where she spent most of her time. With a lap full of materials she was starting another quilt. A friend of hers was having a baby.

Renee truly was not domesticated in anyway. But she sewed the hell out of stuff. She always wanted me to do it with her. I was never interested in it. When Alex asked me if I wanted to help, I thought what the hell I had nothing else on the schedule for the day.

Before I knew it, we had spent hours in complete silence. The only sounds around us was the birds and what noise came from the ranch. We made progress though. All the squares were cut and she had started the pattern of sewing them together by hand.

"I should get dinner started."

Alex and I spent the next few days working together on her project. We would have causal conversations sometimes. other times, we never spoke at all. As much as I enjoyed the time we spent together, what I done next was why I came here. My body had healed and it was time.

"Are you ready?"

"I am."

Walker drove us to the camp. It was nothing like I expected either. He took me around to introduce me to everyone. Then left for work. They were all working out so I figured I better get my butt in gear. The treadmill was free and where I began.

"Cadets. Listen up. We will start today with the two mile run."

My eyes must of popped out of my head when he said it. I hated to run. Hell, some days I hated to get out of bed. But when Rome, run like the rest of them. Only I wasn't in shape for this. I didn't make it through the first mile before I had to stop to catch my breath. They were way a head of me, I was slow as usual.

By lunch time, my legs felt like jello. I didn't realize there would be so much physical training for this. Of course, Jasper done well. He didn't need to breathe and never gave out. When I got my tray of food I went to his table because all the others were full. "Can I join you?"

"If you would like."

He pretended to eat while I ate mine. Since he wasn't very talkative and refused to look in my direction. I broke the awkwardness between us. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's lunch time."

"I meant this program. Why do you want to be a ranger?"

"I have spent all my time on this earth as a human and so on, killing. Maybe I am trying to be a better...person. Do not ruin this for me." He gathered up everything and left with the comment he made.

Jasper and I were similar in some ways. We both done better being loners. It gave you time to ponder and search for your truths. We felt seclusion meant independence and freedom. But it was a cold life to live, there was nothing except empty space surrounding us. I never knew what it was like to fit in and feel wanted until I meet the Cullens. I don't believe Jasper had either until he became part of their coven.

Perhaps we felt people would judge us if they knew us. Perhaps we enjoy solitude. Perhaps it was because we had tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint us. Or perhaps we knew we had disappointed them.

Either way, I wanted to clear the air. "Jasper." If he thought pretending to not hear me would work, he was dead wrong. "Jasper." I yelled it. I could tell he was stressed when he stopped.

"What." He yelled it back at me too.

"I don't want there to be tension between us."

"Okay."

He said alright but we still didn't speak for the rest of the day as he continued to stay away from me. Although, I was too tired to care by the time Walker came to pick me up.

"How did you do today?"

"I can't run for crap."

"You are more like Charlie than I thought. We will work on it."

Walker wasn't much of a talker either. He turned up the radio while we drove back to the ranch. "Bella, wake up." I felt like a child on their first day of school when I got awake and out of the car.

Alex was making dinner when we walked through the door. My ass was dragging to move. I went to lay down for just one hour. The knock on my door startled me a bit.

"I thought maybe you were hungry." Alex carried a large wooden tray with food and drink on it.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. Please rinse your dishes when your done."

She ran a tidy ship that was for sure. I didn't mind really. She was kind enough to bring it to me and the fried chicken was excellent I might add. When I, finished I washed the dishes, dried them and put them away too. It was the least I could do when she asked nothing else of me.

When another knock came at four o'clock in the morning. I got up and stumbled to the door. "It's time to run." Walker had sweats on and waited while I got dressed.

He had me stretch first, he thought it made all the difference in the world. I thought it just made me ache more. "We will go as far as you can today. Then we will try to progress a little farther tomorrow."

They've always said the first time was the worst for anything. Well, they were crazy bastards. I had done this same routine for days and my legs hurt each time I was finished. I had however made it past one mile. So, it was something to be happy about.

Walker ran with me each morning. Then I went on a separate run in the evening alone. While I streched I noticed someone else who planned it as well. He was very good at keep up false pretenses. Jasper didn't need this but he still played his part so everyone would see him as a normal human.

We were about at the same pace until we hit the road, out of everyone's sight that was. "Do you mind if I run with you?"

"If you can keep up." Of course in a second, he was gone. He blurred away while he blended with the surroundings.

"Funny Jasper, real funny."

He would not spoil my run, I wouldn't allow it. I found pounding the pavement helped me be more focused on the goal. I had to keep my head in it. Once I reached the marker on the highway I pushed myself to keep going. After a while, I had to stop. I found another rock to mark the spot for the next time.

The walk back was the cool down for me. It also gave me time to myself to reflect. Only today, I thought of the future for the first time in a long time. What it held for me and how I wanted it to become.

By the time I made it back, everyone had gathered on the porch, including Jasper. They were discussing a case , I took the step to sit and just listen.

"We need someone who can get on the inside. Someone young who they won't know."

"It's risky Trivet, at best."

There were a group of drug dealers sending bad drugs out on the streets. It was killing the kids around here. They would have a pop up rave, pass out drugs and numerous young people had already lost their lives because of it.

"I can do it. They don't know who I am."

"That's a good idea. Bella is perfect, no one would suspect her." Trivet didn't blink an eye at me going undercover.

"Absolutely not. Do you know what Charlie would do to me if I let Bella get involved in this? It's a bad idea." Walker immediately dismissed the thought of me trying to get in with the kids around here.

Trivet was all smiles when he said it. "I have a better idea. Why don't we send Jasper and Bella together. They can enroll in high school and keep an eye on each other. That way you know Bella is safe." When I looked over at Jasper, he wasn't smiling at all. He looked terrified.

"Let me think about it."

Walker excused himself from the conversation when a truck pulled up. He also escaped us without giving an answer too. When he went to talk to the old guy I met in the woods. Then Trivet and Jasper walked off together to discuss the case, so I went inside with Alex.

The thing I loved around here. When you opened the front door, it was always a pleasing aroma. Tonight, the house was filled with apples and spices. The fresh baked pie set on the counter to cool in the kitchen.

"Hi honey. How was your run?"

"It was good."

"I really like having you here."

"I like being here. You and Walker are really awesome."

Alex continued on with dinner. She floated around the table while she set it. It always looked so formal even for the three of us. "Bella will you get in the pantry and feed the dog for me."

"Sure."

She trusted me I felt. To her I wasn't some dumb kid that couldn't do anything on my own. Some how I had to convince Walker of the same. With a bowl full of food I went out the back.

Sure enough Lucy was laying on the patio waiting for meal. I set it down and gave her a couple of pats on the head before I left. Then I decided I should try to talk to Walker. Let him know I could this to help out the team. It was why I came here after all. As I rounded the corner of the house. I heard the old guy say my name. But it was the rest of their conversation, it scared the hell out of me.

"You doubt me?"

"I believe what you tell me. But, I think you are mistaken about Bella. She is just a kid and she seems to be a good kid."

"Walker, I have never felt it as strong as when she is around. She woke the spirits."

* * *

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